Botswana's government and regulator critical of Liquid Telecom joint venture

Effective regulatory reform has turned the Botswana's telecom market into one of the most liberalised in the region. There is a service-neutral licensing regime which takes into account the increasing convergence of technologies and services. A number of operators now compete effectively, particularly in the mobile segment.

Although the number of mobile subscribers fell sharply at the end of 2016, Botswana still has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Africa. Popular use of multiple SIM cards from different operators has delayed the introduction of mobile number portability, with the telecom regulator not convinced of the facility's economic benefits. In a bid to generate new revenue streams and secure market share, the three mobile network operators (MNOs) Mascom Wireless (an affiliate of South Africa's MTN), Orange Botswana (backed by Orange Group) and BTC have entered the underdeveloped broadband sector by adopting of 3G, LTE and WiMAX technologies. In the fixed-line broadband market they compete with a large number of ISPs, some of which have rolled out their own wireless access infrastructure.

After a period of stagnation, the number of internet users has risen strongly in recent years, largely the result of lower prices following improvements in international connectivity. Historically, the landlocked country has depended on satellites for its international bandwidth, and on other countries for transit capacity to landing points of international submarine fibre optic cable systems. The landing of additional cables in the region in recent years has improved the competitive situation in this sector, while prices for connectivity have fallen by up to 70%. The stability and cheaper cost of fixed-line broadband services continues to attract subscribers, though mobile internet remains the preferred choice for most, particularly among the large proportion of younger people in the country.

The much delayed privatisation of BTC has been facilitated by the transfer of network assets and the management of BTC's involvement in two key submarine cables to the newly created wholesale operator Botswana Fiber Networks (BoFiNet). BTC through this process has been transformed into a retailer of services. An IPO was completed in April 2016. There was considerable interest in the 44% of the company made available, with 5% reserved for employees and 51% being retained by the state. Some 50,000 private investors now have a stake in the operator.